UCEM PRJ5PLP: Building Survey and Reflective Report, London

This report presents a building survey and a reflective essay on a property located on Oxford Street, London. The survey, conducted using direct observational techniques, details the building's features, including its age, type, accommodation facilities, and location. It identifies specific issues such as drainage problems, electrical inadequacies, and roof damage, recommending conventional replacement and jacketing as repair techniques. The reflective essay discusses the learning gained from the project, emphasizing the role of UCEM in imparting knowledge and the importance of considering building age and features when assessing defects. The report also includes recommendations for future practice, such as arranging specialist reports and tests before property purchase. References from various sources are included to support the analysis and findings.

PROFESSIONAL LEARNING
By Name
Course
Instructor
Institution
Location
Date.

TASK 1
Introduction
Study approach
In order to effectively understand the features of the building/property under the study, the study
settled on direct observational technique through field survey. This approach allowed for
obtaining first-hand information regarding the property features.
Evaluation of the Survey report/outcome
Building Description
Type and age
The identified building for the survey study is an excellently located ancient single storey
masonry block house constructed in 1830 having been used as a hotel offering accommodation to
visitors to the facility from across the world and appears to be in a stable condition at the time of
inspection.

Figure 1: View of the property from the parking lot(Ade, et al.2016)
Property accommodation Facilities
The main property is configuring with the main entrance to the frontal façade of the property and
accommodation on the two levels as follows:
Ground Floor
i. Toilet
ii. Bathroom
iii. Shower
iv. Pay Phones
v. Teaspot
vi. Kitchen
First Floor
 Teaspot

 Shower
 Toilet
 Bathroom
 Bedroom
The property has parking facilities. An open area finished on hard dressed stones is located to the
rear of the property
Property Tenure as well as its Occupation
The property is understood to be freehold and a full vacant possession will be issued when
completed but this must be confirmed by the legal advisor. At the time of inspection, there were
was no proof of occupancy with indications that the property was evacuated
Building Location
The identified structure or building for the survey study is located on Oxford Street, London
Address: Fitzrovia Court, 24 Carburton St, Fitzrovia, London W1W 7QW, UK
Hours:
Closed ⋅ Opens 8:30AM
Phone: [phone]; United Kingdom. It is one of the famous and popular streets which
benefit from close proximity to the good local schools and being at the center of the town.
Features of Orientation
Understanding the features of already erected building will depend on its orientation with
reference to the position of the viewer. For the purposes of this Survey and Report, it is assumed

that the front elevation of the property is the original main entrance to the property and all
directions are given with reference to this orientation. Elements and sections have been described
with reference to the right or right hand sides as viewed facing the individual element or room.
The site and surrounding areas
A comprehensive analysis of the site and investigation which takes into consideration as
probable contamination forms as well as other environmental hazards was not carried out.
Therefore, it was no possible to generate detailed property specific assessment. Nonetheless,
through the use of the freely accessible internet sources as well as the knowledge of the surveyor
of the local area, a general overview of the concerns that may affect the neighborhood may be
highlighted (Patrignani et al 2016).
The property is situated on an irregular shaped plot with the boundaries clearly marked. To my
knowledge, there has not been experienced any flooding in the past few years and there is no
justification to make us believe that this should remain to be the case even though it is of essence
to note that it can be noted that significant climatic changes have occurred over the last few years
which may change this situation in the times to come. The plot slopes from it’s from to the rear.
The natural ground conditions look reasonably good with the driveway and path surfaces still
distinct from the natural environment.
Specific issues /problems to be addressed
The property seems to have been neglected in the recent past hence the purchase of the property
should be treated as a project since a lot of repair and upgrading will be required that may turn
out to be disruptive and costly. The resultant renovated and modernised property should thus turn
out to be very desirable.

Summarized requirements of renovation as per the survey results
 Removal of leaves and other litter blocking the various drainage channels
 Cleaning of the roofs to remove the dry leaves, growing foliage on the gutters and other
dirt.
 Rectification of the inadequacies of the electrical installations
 Re-plastering of some of the internal areas upon repair of the water damaged surfaces
 Establishment of detailed conditions of the underground drainage as well as water supply
systems
 Roof coverings and structures requires works of different degrees
Techniques to be used in repair
The most recommended technique for repair of the identified cases of default in the building will
include conventional replacement and jacketing. It will be impractical or impossible to
effectively eliminate the conditions which have led to the damage of the concrete. The concrete
will thus be torn out before it can be replaced with the concrete which suites the environmental
exposure and has increased stress strength (Clarke 2017).
Summary of lesson learned
The designs as well as the methods adopted in the property management are improved and the
property might be compliant with the prevailing and current standards of building requirements
in some aspects, which is applicable to a majority of the housing of the country.

The property enjoys reasonably proper maintenance; however, it is naturally starting to suffer a
little with age as would be anticipated to find with a property of such nature. No wonder some
repairs requirements were successfully identified.
Enhancement of my involvement in the project by the topics captured in UCEM
As a surveyor I was not provided with any information before the inspection; however I had
some historic knowledge regarding the property. It was through the UCEM mechanisms of
imparting knowledge that this became possible. Should any information regarding the study
approaches failed to be availed by UCEM, the conclusion reached in this Report may been
possible.
Relevance for future study
Besides the above recommendations, there are other aspects that need attention with time that
can safety be handed as part of a continuous programme of routine maintenance and upgrading.
As part of future practice in the field, I am persuaded to uphold some of the fundamental of this
survey .they include:
 A significant number of the defect established by the survey is a kind that one would
anticipate to find in a property of such an age and feature(Avitabile et al.2016)
 I would strongly recommend that the client arranges for any builders or other specialist
reports, tests or estimate prior to legally committing to purchasing the property so as to be
fully be informed of the costs

Task 2
Reflective Essay
As part of meeting the course requirement, I had been requested to identify a property preferably
an accessible unit in London and conduct a Building Surveying before coming up with a report
offering advice on the general repair state and condition of the identified building. The study
identified a building along Oxford Street for survey work (Patrignani et al.2016). It is to my
understanding that the role of the inspection is with regard to UCEM requirements of keeping the
building safe and secure before redevelopment. The purpose is to identify the main defects and
offer assistance regarding the mitigation strategies of the damage that is currently being caused
and to bring to an end rapid deterioration of the building.
This survey and report was generated as per the Terms and Conditions of Engagement sent to
you. The report is meant for our own private as well as public use and is not permitted from
reproduction in whole or part or depended upon by third parties for use in any way without an
express authority from me. The defects detected from the building as per the survey included
blocked drained systems, deteriorated concrete surfaces and finally accumulation of litter leaves
on the roofs
As part of the resolution to the identified problems, I proposed the following resolutions:
Removal of leaves and other litter blocking the various drainage channels, Cleaning of the roofs
to remove the dry leaves, growing foliage on the gutters and other dirt, Rectification of the
inadequacies of the electrical installations, Re-plastering of some of the internal areas upon
repair of the water damaged surfaces and Establishment of detailed conditions of the
underground drainage as well as water supply systems(Bellard, Cassey and Blackburn 2016).

As per our Conditions of Engagement, there has not been an arrangement for any specialist tests
or report at this stage on service installation and instead comments on the need for specialist test
are incorporated
Property Address
The full property address is Fitzrovia Court, 24 Carburton St, Fitzrovia, London W1W 7QW,
United Kingdom
Inspected By
JARED OWILI OCHIENG
Date of Inspection
The inspection was carried out on 19th JUNE 2019
Conclusion
The report and survey have been carried out by JARED OWILI OCHIENG Building Surveying.
I can ascertain that there is no conflict of interest with regard to this report.
Website Link
https://www.timeout.com/london/shopping/history-of-oxford-street-in-pictures-3

REFERENCES
Ade, P.A., Aghanim, N., Arnaud, M., Ashdown, M., Aumont, J., Baccigalupi, C., Banday, A.J.,
Barreiro, R.B., Bartlett, J.G., Bartolo, N. and Battaner, E., 2016. Planck 2015 results-xiii.
cosmological parameters. Astronomy & Astrophysics, 594, p.A13.
Avitabile, V., Herold, M., Heuvelink, G.B., Lewis, S.L., Phillips, O.L., Asner, G.P., Armston, J.,
Ashton, P.S., Banin, L., Bayol, N. and Berry, N.J., 2016. An integrated pan‐tropical biomass map
using multiple reference datasets. Global change biology, 22(4), pp.1406-1420.
Bellard, C., Cassey, P. and Blackburn, T.M., 2016. Alien species as a driver of recent
extinctions. Biology letters, 12(2), p.20150623.
Clarke, B., 2017. From Grub Street to Fleet Street: An Illustrated History of English Newspapers
to 1899. Routledge.
Patrignani, C.P.D.G., Weinberg, D.H., Woody, C.L., Chivukula, R.S., Buchmueller, O.,
Kuyanov, Y.V., Blucher, E., Willocq, S., Höcker, A., Lippmann, C. and Cerri, A., 2016. Review
of particle physics. Chin. Phys., 40, p.100001.